Steve Makes Everything Better
by PhoebeSnow
Summary: There are moments in life when being a woman can really suck. Thank goodness that Natasha has a boyfriend like Steve to brighten her day.


_This is one of my best Romanogers fics. I just love it when Steve takes care of Natasha._

* * *

Natasha kissed the corner of Steve's mouth. Her boyfriend had been napping for an hour or so because of the exhausting mission he'd taken from SHIELD. He had been in Bosnia for three days and Natasha missed him a lot while he was gone.

She ran her hand over his blonde locks and stroked his brow. "You awake from your nap, soldier?"

The blonde groaned and looked down at his girlfriend as she lie on his chest, a sultry smile on her lips. She wasn't wearing much, just one of his shirts, which looked amazing on her, and a pair of boy shorts. Natasha didn't even have to dress up to look like a goddess.

Steve spoke in a voice that was a little groggy from sleep. "I am now, but what a sight to wake up to."

"I've always enjoyed that flattering tongue of yours, Steve, but it's more enjoyable when you use use it for things besides talking..." Her eyes darkened and she leaned down, pressing her soft body against his.

Gone were the days that Steve would blush every time Natasha whispered innuendos in a low, seductive voice. He'd gotten used to her way of flirtation over the few months they'd dated and rather liked it.

He grinned at her movement and ran his hands to her waist, squeezing her lightly. It was no secret that Natasha loved the way he held her. The waist was one of Nat's weak spots and Steve always made sure to caress her there every time they became intimate.

"I think I'd have to agree with you, Nat." He moved as if to press his lips against hers, but instead, he opted to lick the shell of her ear. Natasha squealed in surprise as he did this. Usually, she didn't squeal or squeak or giggle, but Steve always found little chinks in her armor.

He leaned down to her chest and began kissing her neck and collarbone, making sure to suck the skin before pulling back. Tonight, he might just leave her with a hickey.

"Mm, Steve. That feels so good..." Natasha purred and curled her fingers around his white t shirt, fisting it in her hands. That was a sign she wanted more, so the blonde super soldier slid his warm fingers under the hem of her shirt, gently massaging the skin until she giggled in response.

"Oh! Steven Grant Rogers! Cut it out!" The redhead squealed and pushed his hands away, trying to twist from his grasp. She wasn't going anywhere, though, as Steve had just moved his knees to bracket her hips.

"Did I ever tell you that I like it when you call me by my full name?" He whispered huskily in her ear.

Natasha blushed at the seductive timbre of Steve's voice and she involuntarily shivered when he nuzzled her neck. Damn her senses for getting riled up! He was not going to get off that easy!

"Don't think that talking in a sexy voice is going to make me go weak at the knees because it isn't! You know that I hate being tickled!" Natasha's tone was full of sharp reprimand, but Steve knew that she was only half serious.

It was true that she hated being tickled, but she _loved_ the feel of his hands on her body. It was addictive; she'd as good as told him so a few days ago.

Steve brushed his lips against Natasha's and she nudged against him, trying to push him off of her body. He wouldn't budge. The man was huge and normally, if Natasha wasn't angry at him - well, half angry - like she was now, she would have definitely been able to flip him. After all, she was nearly his equal when it came to fighting.

Suddenly, Natasha arched her back and let out a sharp groan. It wasn't the passionate groan that Steve was accustomed to hearing from her when she was aroused. This was a low, painful sound that he'd only heard when she'd been injured on the battlefield.

Foreplay forgotten, Steve sat up and held Natasha close to him. Her eyes were closed and she began to evenly blow breaths in and out of her mouth.

"Nat! Are you okay? What's wrong? Talk to me!"

The redhead groaned again and straightened her body a bit. When she did this, her eyes opened and she gave Steve a grimacing smile. "We chose the wrong time to fool around." Gasping, her hand touched her stomach and she growled in frustration.

"What do you mean? What's going on with you?"

This was embarrassing. So very, very embarrassing. Why did this have to happen _now_?! It had been three damn days since she'd seen her boyfriend and now she was cramping? Unbelievable! This never happened when they were together before, as Natasha made sure never to initiate any kind of sexual contact with Steve when on her period.

Talk about the absolute worst time to be surprised by her menses. She was supposed to have her period a week from now, but it came early instead. There were times when being a woman really sucked.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, she replied, "I'm just...having some intense abdominal pain at the moment." Once those words were out, she glanced at Steve, waiting to see what he'd say about it.

At first, he furrowed his brow as if he didn't understand. Then, slowly but surely, his eyes widened and he stared down at her belly.

"Do you need me to make you some tea?"

Why was he the most perfect boyfriend in the world? Even though Natasha knew that they didn't make a habit out of talking about menstruation cycles, Steve wasn't the type to fall to pieces if or when the subject ever came up between them.

The redhead nodded and slowly got up from the bed. The pain was numbing and she grunted in effort to stand without shaking. "Yes, please. I have a box of green tea pomegranate in the cupboard, that is, if Stark and Thor didn't get to it. I'm gonna go, um...get a tampon." She shuffled off a bit unsteadily and Steve waited until she entered the bathroom before heading towards the door.

When his hand reached the door and he was ready to pull it open, he heard Natasha call out to him. "Uh...Steve?"

He turned back to look at her. "Yeah?"

She poked her head out of the bathroom door and licked her lips. "Could you do me a big favor?"

"What's up?"

"...I..I ran out of tampons. There's only two left in the whole box. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind...going to the store for me and buying some more?"

The silence in the room was deafening. Steve's eyeballs must have grown twice the size they originally were after she'd spoke and Natasha shifted back and forth awkwardly.

Finally, after what felt like an hour - okay, in all seriousness, it took like, ten seconds, but those were the most **tense** ten seconds in her life - he responded.

"Okay. Um, what kind do you need?"

"Ah, Tampax Pearl. Just the regular ones, not the supers."

"Alright. I'll put the water on to boil and head out to the store around the corner to get your...sanitary products. I won't be long." He gave her a gentle smile and walked out of the room.

The pain in Natasha's stomach lessened a bit and she grinned to herself. How great it was to have an understanding boyfriend like Steve. Whether he was fighting HYDRA agents, infiltrating a building full of Serbian rebels or buying tampons for his girlfriend - she couldn't stop snickering at this - he met each challenge head on. She couldn't imagine how terrible it would have been if she were dating Tony instead.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Natasha's cell phone rang. It was Steve. She clicked the green answer button and put the sound on speaker since she was drinking her tea. "Hello?"

"Nat?"

"Mmhm?"

"They're out of Tampax Pearl."

"...oh. Well, that's okay. Just get the regular Tampax then."

"I already looked. They don't have that either. What should I get? Oh! Wait a minute. Here's a Tampax Pearl. It was shoved way in the back." There was a rustling sound that came through the phone.

"It's called Tampax Pearl Active. Is that good?"

"No, no. Those are scented and I never use scented tampons. They always make me itch."

"...you itch because of tampons? I didn't knew that could happen."

"Steve, don't you get itchy down there sometimes?"

"Yes, but I still don't understand why you would."

Why was he asking her this? "I get itchy because I happen to be sensitive to perfumes and fragrances in my vagina. A tightly rolled and perfumed cylindrical piece of cotton that you have to insert into your vagina qualifies in that category."

There was silence on the phone and Natasha swore that Steve had probably turned red after listening to her. This wasn't a usual topic of discussion for the two of them.

"Right. Point taken. Well, if you don't want scented tampons, then I can't get you any of the Pearl brand. They're all either scented or super. I see a row of jumbos from Tampax. How about them?"

Natasha shook her head. "Nope. Not those either. They're too big for me."

There was another brief silence on the other end before Steve spoke again. Honestly, this was getting to be a habit today. "Are you talking about the box? Because it's actually the same size as the Tampax Pearl boxes."

"No. I mean that the tampons themselves are too big for me."

"...wait. They come in different _sizes_?"

"Yes, that's why there are lites, regulars and super sizes."

More silence came from the other end of the line. Natasha drank from her mug again. The poor guy. This was probably too much knowledge for him to absorb in one day.

"Steve, you okay?"

"They sell different sized tampons for women..."

"Because we all have different sizes vaginas! You got it, soldier." She cackled.

"Damn it, Nat! Don't talk like that out loud! Someone could hear you!" The worry in Steve's voice was too funny and Natasha found herself giggling hard at her boyfriend's reaction.

"Boy, you're really learning a lot today, aren't you?" She rocked back and forth in the stool she sat on and hit the counter with her palm. "This is just too much! Captain America didn't know that vaginas come in different sizes!"

"That's not funny, Nat, and I **did** know. I just...forgot." Steve sounded so embarrassed over the phone that Natasha began to feel very naughty for laughing.

It was just hard to believe that Steve Rogers had no problems with being assertive when they were in bed together, but when it came to discussions about vaginas, he got nervous.

Natasha chuckled for a few moments longer, then cleared her throat and shook it off. "Alright. I'm sorry. You just gave me something to smile about is all. I'm not in a lot of pain anymore, either."

"You took a couple of ibuprofen?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm glad to hear it. Better that you're laughing than groaning in pain. Hmm. The only tampons here are Kotex and Playtex. Do you use either of those?"

Natasha rubbed her forehead. The store didn't even have her brand? What a pain.

"Tsk, no, but you can get Playtex. What kinds do they have?"

"Let me look. Oh, why don't you use super tampons instead of regular?"

"...You don't want to know the answer to that question."

"Seriously, Nat. I think I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm almost one hundred years old; I'm not a baby." He sounded a little touchy.

"Fine. The reason I don't use supers is because you increase your chances of getting toxic shock syndrome."

"Toxic shock syndrome? What's that?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Then why even tell me abo-oh, never mind. There's something about it on the back of the box here."

Natasha sipped her tea in silence, knowing that Steve was going to flip out when he finished reading. A few minutes later, she was right.

"Oh, my God! Nat, you didn't tell me that this happens! Tampons are dangerous! Why would you even use those things?!"

"Steve."

"If you ask me, pads are a lot safer."

"Yeah, and messier too. Steve."

"Yes?"

"Toxic shock syndrome only happens to women if they forget about their tampon and accidentally leave it in for longer than it should be. It's never happened to me and never will, since there's no way I could forget that I'd have a piece of cotton inside of my vagina. Calm down."

"Okay."

"Now, tell me what kind of Playtex tampons they have."

"Alright. Uhh, they have...Playtex Sport with 360 protection and Playtex Gentle Glide with 360 protection. Huh. The first one might be the best choice for you, Nat. Playtex Sport says it's flex fit too and since you move around quite a bit, I think it could be the right one."

Color spread to Natasha's cheeks and she grinned. Steve was really getting past his comfort zone to help her get some tampons. "I love you," she said breathlessly.

She could hear the smile in his words as he spoke. "I take it that means you want Playtex Sport, then?"

"Yes, thank you for doing this, Steve. I know you didn't have to..."

"You're right. I didn't, but I _wanted_ to. You're my girlfriend, Nat. If there's anything that you need, I'll do my best to help you with it."

A few tears slid down Natasha's cheeks and she sighed happily. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

"I gotta go. Be back in a bit and I love you too, babe." Then Steve hung up the phone and Natasha cupped her chin in her hands, grinning to herself like a big goofball. He really was a dream.

* * *

When Steve came through the door to his floor of the Avengers complex, he set a brown bag of groceries on the counter. The moment he stepped away from the counter, Natasha came from behind the corner and jumped into his arms.

"What took you so long, Steve?" She asked, laughing as her boyfriend startled and uneasily held her up by the backside.

His cheeks began to turn bright pink and he flustered. "W-well, uh...I-"

"Steve. It's okay. I changed my pants and I'm wearing a tampon. You remember they're different than pads; they're inside your vagina instead of on your panties."

She bit back her tongue to keep from laughing as he gave her a relieved and slightly annoyed smile.

"I already knew that, but thanks for the visual...anyway, look. I got you your tampons. I just went ahead and bought two boxes, so you won't have to get replacements for a while."

"Oh, Steve..." She bit her lip and gave him an adoring gaze.

"I also got you some snacks."

Natasha stared in amazement as Steve pulled cheese straws, Combos, veggie sticks, Slim Jims, Lorna Doone's, gummy worms, RIPs, nerds, Lindt chocolate truffles, tiny boxes of Cheerios, Lance cream cheese and chives crackers and several small bottles of Jarritos soda out of the bag.

"...no wonder you were gone for so long. You got all of this for me?"

"Yeah. I figured since you're not feeling so great, we could just sit in and watch a couple of movies. Make it an in-home movie date."

A few tears ran down Natasha's cheeks and she gave him a tight hug. "Thank you, Steve. You're the best!"

He kissed her on the forehead and brushed the strands of hair away from her face. "Hey, all I did was get you what you asked for and some snacks on the side. Why are you crying?"

The redhead wiped her tears away and chuckled. "I'm usually not so emotional when I'm menstruating, but you've been so helpful and got what I asked for and now you want to watch movies with me even though I'm bleeding from the vagina." They both kind of laughed and cringed at that. "You're everything I could have asked for in a boyfriend, Steve and I...I don't want to lose you." The redhead buried her face in her boyfriend's shoulder and sighed.

 _So that was why she was behaving so strangely,_ Steve thought. He took Natasha's chin in his hand and held her face up until they were looking into each other's eyes. "Nat, it doesn't matter what you're going through or how you're feeling. Whether you're on your period or under fire from radicals in Pakistan. I will always be there for you, til the end of the line."

"Oh, Steve..." Overwhelmed by Steve's heartfelt confession, Natasha pressed her lips to his passionately, moving her hands to his neck and stroking his blonde hairs. Steve kissed her fervently and a few moments later, he pulled back and held his forehead against hers.

"Now, why don't you take these snacks in my room and pick out a few movies while I get us a couple glass of ice for the sodas?" He nuzzled his nose to hers and winked at her.

Natasha smiled and nodded. "Yeah, okay." She turned to the bag, dumped all of the snack items back inside of it and started down the hall and around the corner to Steve's room.

Steve didn't move from the spot until she disappeared from his view. As he prepared the glasses and filled them with ice, he whistled to himself.

When he reached his room and saw Natasha sitting cross legged on his bed, chewing on a gummy worm as the opening music from Casablanca began to play, his heart swelled at the sight. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to be with her every day for the rest of his life. Unbeknownst to Natasha, Steve planned to tell her this very soon...but there was a special ring he would give her when that day came.


End file.
